Singapore’s government says the condition of the country’s 91-year-old founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, has deteriorated further at the hospital where he’s been treated for about six weeks.

Lee was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on February 5 for severe pneumonia and was later put on life support.

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The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that Lee “remains critically ill in the ICU and has deteriorated further.”

Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee ruled for 31 years until 1990, and has been credited with transforming the city-state from a sleepy tropical port to a wealthy, bustling financial hub with one of the highest average incomes in the world.

Lee commands immense respect among Singaporeans, who this year will celebrate the country’s 50th independence anniversary.